Julep Maven June 2013 Review – Nail Polish Subscription Box

I could not wait for the June Julep Maven box to arrive – I have had high hopes for the DD Creme and Concealer since I first learned about them months ago. (Julep started out as a nail polish and manicure/pedicure product subscription service, but lately they have been creating more and more beauty products. So far, I’ve been very pleased with their beauty products – check out all of my Julep Maven reviews to see what types of makeup products you can expect from Julep!)

Looking at the swatches Julep provided for selecting the right DD shade, I was debating between Light and Medium – I’m glad I went with Light! Out of the tube this shade looked dark with more yellow/orange tones than I expected, but it went on perfectly! I think I lucked out on the shade matching my skin tone so well – and I’m surprised the lightest shade worked perfectly.

The DD Concealer was…interesting. I tried it under my eyes like Julep recommends – but it didn’t compare to my favorite Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circles (which I discovered in the CEW Insider Box). It worked well just for spot concealing, but for me the container of this product is more of an issue. I’m thinking it would have been better in a container like the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Dark Circle applicator – since there is not a lot of product, you want to make sure you use every last drop!

Verdict: The DD Cream is definitely a win for me – so I’m thrilled with this box. I paid $50 for this box and received nearly $200 worth of product. I definitely wouldn’t pay $32 for the concealer, but I’m happy with all these products for the price I paid. What did you think of the June Julep Maven box? Did the DD products work for you?

Liz is the founder of My Subscription Addiction. She’s been hooked on subscription boxes since 2011 thanks to Birchbox, and she now subscribes to over 50 boxes. Her favorites include POPSUGAR Must Have, and any box that features natural beauty products!

All views in this review are the opinion of the author. My Subscription Addiction will never accept payment in exchange for a review, but will accept a box at no cost to provide honest opinions on the box. This post may contain affiliate/referral links. Read the complete My Subscription Addiction disclosure.

15 Comments

Mel June 12, 2013 at 11:41 pm

My box was also taking quite a while to ship. I got my add-ons very quickly, but I finally had to call about the box itself (especially since I had upgraded to the full collection) and leave a message since they were so inundated with calls. Like Jennifer, I was also told my box was delayed because the light had sold out (I thought I ordered the first day – must’ve sold out quickly) and that they could send me the Medium or I could switch boxes. Since I mostly just wanted the full collection of polishes, I said I still wanted the same box, but that I knew Medium would be terrible on me since I’m super pale. In the end, they offered me 1000 Jules to make up for the color and sent me the box with Medium (and actually, I got the concealer in Light, so they must’ve found one laying around somewhere). I was happy enough with the resolution, but it seems like there was a whole lot of problems this month, mostly based on the emptiness of the tubes and the color of the creams. It just didn’t seem very well planned or tested. I don’t really think I’ll use either of the creams I got (the medium cream is, as expected, dark orange on me and the concealer just seems too cakey), but I do love the polish.

I received my first julep maven box in the mail today after my brother came home from school and checked the mailbox…I forgot to. Anyways, after opening the box and saw my classic twist intro nailpolishes and hand scrub, with the 3 adds ons (julia, billy jean, and a mystery polish that turned out to be camille), I am VERY impress and satisfied with the quality of their service, as well as their products.

Thank you so much for introducing this subscription to me and I can’t wait to see what you got in your next mystery box!!

I was really disapointed by the amount of product in both the concelear and the creme, so much so that I am considering cancelling my subscription, the nailpolishes I have gotten so far have been gloopy and streaky. I really wanted to be wowed by julep and instead I feel pretty let down :<

I was also debating between the light and medium DD creams and I am SO glad I got the light! It’s actually a little too dark for me right now (I’ve tried putting on only small amounts at a time but it always leaves me orange) but I’m hoping that if I get a nice tan this summer I’ll be able to wear it. :/ I’ve heard pretty bad things about the concealer though. I think Julep is stretching themselves a little thin trying to come up with all these new cosmetics. I love being able to try all this new stuff, perfected or not, but I wish they’d stick to perfecting their nail polish formula for now.

I agree! I was also a little disappointed with the one add-on I DID buy, the bunny nail polish which was described as “crisp white linen with a fine gold shimmer”. Well, at least when I painted it myself you can’t see the gold shimmer at all even in the sunlight. It just looked semi-glossy white. I did find a layer of gold shimmer at the bottom when I was removing the polish though. It seems the glitter all sank to the bottom?? I was very disappointed too. I really loved one of their other glitter polishes. I guess I need to stick with the larger glitter particle polishes from them for now.

Just heard back from customer service and they acknowledged that my add-on had shipped, but that my box had not. They said if it had not arrived by Friday that I should follow up with them again. But they didn’t offer any kind of recompense or apology even.

My actual Maven box still hasn’t arrived! My add-on box came on June 1, but the Maven Box itself appears to be missing in action. I tried contacting customer service, but they have yet to answer me. I’m a little miffed with Julep this month…

My box was delayed because they ran out of light DD cream! I called Julep and spoke with customer service and was told that it would be a long time before the DD cream in Light would be back in stock. I was disappointed, but then I saw several reviews complaining about the “orangeness” of the light color, so I now actually feel like a dodged a $20 bullet! I am actually pretty happy with Sephora’s BB (or CC–whatever!!) cream. I ended up ordering the “IT Girl”, which I am expecting to come in today or tomorrow. Of course, I broke a nail this morning. I love the Nantucket colors for the 4th of July! Customer service was very helpful, so far my experience with Julep has been fantastic! I need concealer big time for my eyes, I might try the one you mentioned, Liz! Thanks for the tip!